July 2009 Monthly Advocacy Update

ACS CAN is fighting to make sure any bill that comes through Congress helps all Americans obtain medical coverage that is adequate, affordable, administratively simple, and covers pre-existing conditions. The legislation must:

place much greater emphasis on prevention

stop insurers from using pre-existing conditions, like cancer, as a reason to deny or limit coverage

ensure that people with a chronic or catastrophic disease, like cancer, are not financially ruined by the cost of care

place reasonable limitations on premiums and other patient out-of pocket costs

abolish annual and lifetime caps on dollars spent or access to services

Making Decisions and Making the Case

Depending on the specifics of each piece of legislation, ACS CAN may choose to endorse or oppose one or more proposals. Working closely with ACS CAN and Society CEO John Seffrin as well as staff and volunteer leadership, ACS CAN will use a deliberative and objective process -- one we employ in our analysis of all legislation. This is a process to help determine whether to endorse, oppose or attempt to change legislation and will be based on ensuring that any health care reform legislation reflects and reinforces our mission.

Ultimately, ACS CAN will weigh each major proposal against one another as well as compared to the status quo to determine:

If the bills meet or fail to meet ACS CAN’s priorities;

Whether additional issues are raised that could impact the Society and/or ACS CAN’s work;

What trade-offs might have to be made;

If the proposal is politically viable; and

Whether there are risks for the Society and ACS CAN due to the proposed changes.

If we can enact a strong health care reform law this year, cancer patients throughout the country will benefit for generations to come. But please note that for all the activity, it is still early in the legislative process and ACS CAN has not yet endorsed any particular approach. We will keep you posted as the legislative process evolves.

In the meantime, ACS CAN advocates are hard at work making the case for reform generally. Over the past three weeks, ACS CAN advocates made nearly 4,000 calls to targeted members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) and Finance Committees. During this week’s July 4 Congressional recess, ACS CAN is working on meeting with legislators face-to-face in their districts, dropping by their offices, and writing letters to the editors of their hometown newspapers. Next week, ACS CAN will join several partner organizations for a national call in day to members of Congress. And on July 14-15, 49 of 52 state lead ambassadors (top advocacy volunteers from across the country) will be on Capitol Hill to meet with their representatives and senators and advocate for health care reform now, not later.

If you missed the June 5 virtual town hall with Dr. Seffrin, Mid South CEO Lisa Roth, and me, on Society’s Access to Care initiative and ACS CAN’s efforts in support of health care reform, you can now

On July 1, ACS CAN launches a new, edgy component of its health care reform advertising campaign. For the full month of July, ACS CAN health care reform advertising will dominate the entire Capitol South Metro station in Washington, D.C., which is most commonly used by U.S. House staff. The ads will be placed in various sizes and places throughout the station, including the station entrance, mezzanine, and platform.

In addition, ACS CAN and the Society’s New England Division are partnering to promote and sustain health care reform in

This month the "Today Show" featured two families who met their members of Congress as part of the May 20 ACS CAN Patient Lobby Day in Washington, D.C. Glenn and Melanie Funchess and Taylor and Amy Wilhite were interviewed as part of the morning show’s four-part series on cancer about the devastating financial impact cancer has had for their family. Dr. Seffrin also appeared to speak about the need for comprehensive health care reform

This month, ACS CAN again teamed up with business, union, and consumer groups in the

The coalition's first ad, "

Access to Care Health Care Reform Legislative Update

This month, the Senate Finance Committee postponed introduction of its draft as it worked to address cost issues, but the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee did release an initial legislative plan. The bill would extend access to quality care to all Americans by guaranteeing issue of plans to all applicants, eliminating discrimination based on health status or history, capping out-of-pocket costs that patients pay, and placing greater emphasis on disease prevention. Although the HELP Committee did not finish its work on the bill before Congress adjourned for its July 4 recess, they made good progress and intend to finish the week of July 6.

During consideration of the bill on Tuesday, June 23, the committee voted unanimously to include the bipartisan

Passage of the amendment came on the heels of a well-attended Capitol Hill briefing ACS CAN sponsored with the Catholic Health Association of the United States on palliative care in the context of the health care reform debate. The session helped inform policymakers that for patients with chronic diseases like cancer, health care reform means better coordinated care with an emphasis on treating the patient and not just the disease.

Another important issue raised during the Senate HELP Committee’s deliberations is whether employers and health insurers would be allowed to charge higher premiums based on individual behaviors, health conditions, or participation in workplace wellness programs. These so-called "lifestyle choices" could include higher premiums for smoking, obesity or other pre-existing conditions - putting the cost of coverage beyond those who need it most, as well as those who may be least able to change their health habits.

ACS CAN absolutely supports positive incentives and wellness programs that encourage people to be actively engaged in their health care, but those incentives and programs must be "de-linked" from the cost of health insurance. ACS CAN strongly opposes the use of health status such as medical claims history, family history and pre-existing conditions to determine health insurance pricing. The key to driving positive change in people’s health status is to create environments that support healthy behaviors and give people the tools they need to implement better habits.

To that end, ACS CAN and other groups fought successfully to table an amendment that would have allowed employers to charge insurance premiums of up to 50 percent more to people who do not meet certain health guidelines for wellness. ACS CAN believes this approach would result in higher costs and less affordable insurance for less healthy employees. Essentially, the amendment would have opened a "back door" for insurers to rate employees on the basis of health status. A compromise amendment that leaves the current law and regulations in place was adopted instead, but we remain concerned that the issue will come up when the committee reconvenes and will remain vigilant.